Hannah Bradley

"We Want Information"

Section MS12, Riccardo Badano

Keywords: borders, book

On Friday 24th June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the piece of legislation that, since 1973, establishes the constitutional right to an abortion across the United States. This decision has implemented a dramatic change in abortion access across the U.S.. The impact of this has been felt around the world where, according to the World Health Organisation, over 25 million abortions that take place each year across the globe are unsafe and result in the deaths of around 39,000 women. How and to what extent can a woman’s right to healthcare be determined by where a person lives, income, education, race, language skills, religion, gender, and sexual orientation? What are the potential pressure points in the existing abortion law in the UK? How can we overcome the stigma of abortion that continues to be felt in society?   This project seeks to demonstrate the steps we can take to protect abortion care in the UK, remove the stigma and ensure that the overturning of Roe v Wade doesn’t act as a catalyst for change in this country. Therefore, both the format and the strategy of dissemination of the project are inspired by The Janes collective - an underground network of activists in Chicago that provided safe, affordable, but illegal abortions in the years leading up to the passing of Roe v Wade in 1973. In total, an estimated 11,000 women received safe abortions because of their work. Each of these women was represented by a postcard with their name, phone number and the amount of money they could spare to pay for the abortion. The postcards were highly confidential and essential for organising abortion care.Â